Call To Arms Pt 1
by Ghostwriter
Summary: HISB The Rangers throw Kat a surprise party only to find themselves in the fight of their lives.
1. Discovery And Plots

CALL TO ARMS PT 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Okay everyone, here it is: my series finale. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize. It was pointed out that I never gave the Rangers' friends other than Angela a last name, so I'm going to add last names for them in this fic.

In Ernie's Gym And Juice Bar, the Rangers except for Katherine and their friends: Angela Chambers, Curtis Taylor, Bulk, Skull, Richie Lopez, Justin Walker, Tina Reynolds, Zane Richards, Hilary Morrow, Chris Teller, Marge Sanders, and Tyler Grayson were helping out Ernie. One-by-one, they picked up boxes of fruit.

"Where do you want these, Ernie?" Jason asked.

"Right here on the counter's good. Thanks," Ernie responded and the teens placed the boxes in a row on the counter.

"No problem, Ernie. We're always glad to help out," Billy responded. The man grabbed a box and went to the back.

"So Kim, we got your message. What's up?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, and where's Kat? Shouldn't she be here?" Aisha added.

"Actually it's about Kat," Kimberly answered.

"What do you mean?" Tina questioned.

"Tomorrow's her birthday," Kimberly revealed.

"What!" the others except for Rocky chorused.

"This calls for a surprise party," Trini declared.

"My thoughts exactly," Kimberly stated.

"I don't know, Kim. I get the feeling that she doesn't want to make it a big deal," Rocky objected. "I mean, the only reason you and I know is because we helped her register," he continued.

"Well, whether she likes it or not, no one gets away without at least **one** surprise party," Aisha determined.

"Let's just hope her birthday goes as planned," Zack stated.

"I hear that," Jason agreed. Tyler looked at them in confusion but didn't ask.

"So, what should we do?" Adam wondered.

"Well, I did some scouting and I think I found the perfect spot. There's a carnival in town and what would be a better way to celebrate a good friend's birthday than to take her to the carnival on the very day it opens?" Kimberly asked.

"Sounds good. I'm in," Bulk told her, putting an arm around Aisha, who leaned into the touch.

"Yeah, me too," Jason quickly agreed and Skull nodded as the others made similar statements.

"Would it be too presumptuous to inquire as to whether or not I can attend the festivities?" Marge queried.

"Absolutely not, Marge. You're our friend," Kimberly responded.

"Prodigious," Marge stated and Billy reached out to take her hand, intertwining their fingers. Tyler bit his lip. A surprise party for Kat sounded great, but he probably wasn't invited. After all, he, Jason, and Kat had only just become friends and it was probably going to be really awkward with him there. As if sensing his thoughts, Jason turned to him.

"Hey, Tyler, would you like to join us?" he offered.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude," the other boy protested.

"It wouldn't be an intrusion. She'd see it as a friend coming to her birthday party," came the assurance.

"Cool. I'm in," came the promise.

"Awesome," Tommy said and then they all huddled together and Kimberly outlined the rest of her plan. Meanwhile, on the moon, Rita and her minions had seen the whole thing from the outer lobby of the Moon Palace.

"So, it's Katherine's birthday, is it?" she asked.

"Yes, Empress. And the other Rangers are quite excited about it," Baboo answered.

"You think they'll have cake?" Squatt questioned and Baboo hit him over the head.

"Empress, tomorrow will be the perfect time to attack as the Rangers will have left their guard down," Goldar advised.

"Yes, the carnival will be the perfect stage for our final battle," Rita declared. "FINSTER! GET IN HERE!" she shrieked. Almost immediately, the dog-like creature was in front of the witch.

"Yes, Empress, what can I do for you?" he queried.

"I'm launching my final attack on the Power Brats tomorrow," Rita told him. "I'll need a large group of Putties and the fiercest monster out of the book that you can find," she continued.

"As you wish," Finster replied.

"And Finster, seeing as how tomorrow I'll be taking over Earth, I want you, Squatt, and Baboo to gather any Earthlings other than the Rangers that you find. They will become my new slaves," Rita stated.

"Yes, Your Evilness," Finster agreed.

"What are your orders for us, Empress?" Scorpina questioned eagerly.

"You, Rito, and Goldar will be leading the attack. Whatever monster Finster creates will assist you in either capturing or destroying the Rangers. Our best strategy for defeating the Rangers will be to divide them so that they aren't at full strength," Rita answered.

"You got it, Sis," Rito stated.

"We won't let you down, Empress," Goldar promised. _Finally, I'll be able to destroy the Red Ranger_, he thought to himself. As Rita's laughter rang out, the griffin allowed a terrible smile to grace his lips.


	2. Surprise And Plans

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize.

The next day, the other Rangers and their friends led a blindfolded Katherine to the fairgrounds.

"Guys, where are you taking me? I don't understand," she stated as the sound of good-natured screaming reached her ears.

"You'll see," Jason promised as he led her through the entrance. The others looked at each other excitedly. _Oooh! I hope she likes this!_ Kimberly thought to herself. Jason carefully led the girl forward.

"We wanted to make sure your first birthday in America was **really** special and your parents agreed to let us do this for you as long as we came back to their place for your birthday dinner," Aisha added.

"I'm glad we had the day off today," Skull whispered to Bulk who nodded. Then, Bulk stepped up to Aisha and grabbed her hand. Aisha leaned into Bulk. Meanwhile, Marge and Billy were also holding hands.

"I do hope that Katherine reacts jubilantly to the revelation of our surprise for her," Marge murmured to Billy.

"As do I," Billy agreed in the same tone. Finally they stopped.

"You are going to **love** this!" Rocky cried, unable to stop himself from doing a little hop. _I hope_, he added silently.

"It sounds like you better show me what's going on before Rocky gives himself a coronary," Katherine commented and everyone laughed. Jason untied the brown sash and removed it from Katherine's eyes.

"Surprise!" everyone shouted as she gasped seeing the fairgrounds.

"Wow! This is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy you guys are my friends and that you would do this for me," she continued.

"Come on, guys. Let's go have some fun," Aisha suggested and with excited shouts, the Rangers and their friends ran off. In the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha watched as the Rangers and their friends enjoyed themselves.

"Oh, Zordon. I'm glad that they're able to enjoy themselves," Alpha sighed.

"Yes. They've been working hard and enjoy a break," Zordon agreed. Hopefully, Rita wouldn't send down a monster. He knew how much the Rangers valued their birthdays, as did the planets Edenoi and Eltar. Meanwhile, on the moon, Finster had just selected a monster and was creating it out of the clay he had procured. Rita stomped into the laboratory.

"Finster, have you selected a monster yet?" she demanded.

"Yes, Your Evilness. I'm working on the mold now," Finster answered.

"That's what I like to hear," Rita approved. "Let me know when the monster's ready," she continued.

"Of course," Finster agreed. The witch walked out of the lab and back to the front of the palace where Goldar and Scorpina were.

"As soon as the monster and Putties are ready, I'll send you all down to Earth," she told her generals. Goldar and Scorpina shared terrible grins with their Empress. They could hardly wait. Back on Earth, the Rangers and their friends were going on different rides as quick as they could. As Katherine and Jason went down a slide, she laughed. _I can't believe they planned this_, she thought to herself. She was having a blast. Moments later, her friends came down the slide behind them.

"What should we do next?" Rocky asked, looking at Katherine.

"I think someone else should have a turn to choose," Katherine stated.

"No way. This is your birthday," Angela protested.

"Yeah, it's all about you today, girl," Zack agreed.

"Are you guys sure?" Katherine queried. Sure it was her birthday, but she wanted her friends to have fun as well.

"Yes!" they all chorused with a laugh.

"Well then, I say we go on the Tilt-A-Whirl," she declared.

"Let's do it!" Zack enthused and they all headed for the ride. Tyler grinned and shook his head. _Man, I still can't believe I'm hanging out with them like this_, he thought. He was actually getting along better with Katherine and the others now then when he had been hitting on her and trying to get her to date him. The teens stood in line for the Tilt-A-Whirl and then moved up occasionally. Several minutes later, they finally reached the ride and got in. Seconds later, the air was filled with good-natured shouts of delight and surprise. The teens went on a couple of more rides before deciding to get something to eat.

"What should we get?" Trini asked.

"Hot dogs!" Bulk suggested.

"Yeah, with mustard!" Skull added.

"I just want some cotton candy," Tyler commented.

"I wonder if they have popcorn anywhere," Aisha said.

"Okay, let's make this simple and split up and get what we want to eat and then we can meet by the Ferris Wheel," Jason suggested.

"Good idea," the others agreed. With that, they all split up. Bulk and Skull went to where they had seen a hot dog vendor while Aisha, Rocky, Adam, and Tommy went to search for pizza. Billy, Marge, Zack, Angela, Richie, and Curtis went to see if they could find a place selling burgers and Justin, Tina, Zane, Hilary, and Chris went to see if they could find a lemonade stand. Meanwhile, Tyler, Jason, Trini, Kimberly, and Katherine went to see if they could find cotton candy. What they didn't know was that Rita had resumed watching them via her Repulsa-Scope. _So they've split up, have they?_ she mused. She could use that to her advantage. Immediately, she began casting a spell. As the spell progressed, her spell skull shone with a brilliant light. _Oooh. Sis is up to something nasty!_ Rito thought. Whatever it was, he knew that the Rangers were in for it. When Rita was finally done with her spell, the light from the spell skull zoomed out of the skull and headed towards Earth, and then enveloped the fairgrounds, causing a slight tremor that went unnoticed. Rita smirked and then headed for Finster's laboratory. It was time to see what monster he had selected for the takeover. Just as she reached the lab, the machine clanged and whistled, signaling that the monster was ready. Seconds later, a creature came out of the machine. Seeing him, Rita grinned in pleasure. The monster was a large human-sized lion creature with metallic-looking silver body armor, brandishing a large sword. Finster put in his next clay molds and a large swarm of Putties soon followed the monster.

"Everyone, we're going to Earth. You know what to do," Rita declared when the last Putty had landed.

"Right," her minions chorused. Then, she used her scepter to transport them all to Earth.


	3. Unexpected Attack

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize.

In the Command Center, the alarm blared shrilly.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Not on Katherine's birthday!" Alpha exclaimed in dismay as he called up the origins of the distress on the computer. To his and Zordon's dismay, they saw Rita, Rito, Goldar, Scorpina, Finster, Squatt, Baboo, a monster, and a large group of Putties land in different parts of the fairgrounds.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! It's Dark Heart the Lion" Alpha cried.

"Contact the Rangers at once," Zordon instructed. Alpha did so and was surprised when all he got was static. He tried repeatedly to reach the Rangers to no avail.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Rita's somehow cut off our communication with the Rangers!" he exclaimed.

"A most disturbing turn of events. Alpha, you must re-establish contact with the Rangers as soon as possible," the wizard stated and the robot frantically began running through different frequencies, hoping that at least one would allow them to contact his human friends. _Be strong, Rangers. Show Rita that you can handle any scheme that she comes up with_, he encouraged silently. Meanwhile, at the park, as Rita and her minions materialized at different parts of the establishment, the fair-goers screamed and headed for any exit they saw as the aliens fired shots from their weapons. Hearing the screams and seeing the fleeing people, the Rangers and their friends tossed their food into trashcans and quickly ran to see what was going on. To their surprise, each group came upon a space alien attacking the place.

"Whoa! Not good!" Zack shouted.

"Marge, flee! Quickly!" Billy encouraged.

"But-" Marge began to object.

"Go!" Billy insisted and the girl ran off. Zack went to his communicator. "Jason. Jason! We've got a situation!" he cried into his communicator. However, the only response he got was static.

"I'll go see if there's any other civilians," Angela said and then ran off, Richie and Curtis close behind her. In the other parts of the fairgrounds, Bulk, Skull, Justin, Hilary, Chris, Tina, Zane, Curtis, and Richie did the same thing. Tyler could only stare in shock. It was that golden griffin creature and his human partner! What were they doing here? Goldar and Scorpina laughed, summoned energy from their swords, and then threw it towards Jason who quickly jumped out of the way.

"Tyler! Get out of here!" Jason shouted as he dodged another blast.

"No way! We're partners!" Tyler objected, doing the same.

"Tyler, I appreciate the sentiment but get the heck out of here!" Jason exclaimed. Just then, they heard a shriek. "Go check it out!" Jason commanded. Tyler nodded and then ran off in the direction of the sound as Kimberly, Katherine, Trini, Jason and surrounded Goldar and Scorpina, letting loose with attack after attack so that they and the Putties helping them couldn't get to their friend. Though formidable warriors, the quickness of the punches and kicks caught the griffin and Scorpinion off-guard, though they often resorted to using their swords to make the Rangers jump back and away from each other as they battled the Putties. Seeing a young girl surrounded by Putties, Tyler out a cry and attacked the clay beings. Once all of the civilians were safely out of the fairgrounds, the Rangers tried to morph, but were horrified to discover that like their communication frequency, their morphing powers were jammed.

"This is not good," Rocky mumbled and then back-flipped out of the way as Rito made a swipe at him with his sword. Then, the skeleton creature took off and Aisha, Rocky, Adam and Tommy gave chase, following him and some Putties into a pitch-black tunnel-maze. Seconds later, energy from the sword lit up the maze and the Rangers dodged the incoming attack. _Geez, I had to get stuck in a tunnel_, Tommy thought to himself. But at least it wasn't too small. Billy and Zack stood back to back as Finster, Baboo, and Squatt and a group of Putties surrounded them. When Billy and Zack had seen who they were up against, they had figured it'd be an easy battle. However, they had been unprepared for Finster's vast knowledge of spells and fight techniques.

"Man, that little dog can fight," Zack panted.

"An unforeseen turn of events," agreed Billy.

"We surprised them, didn't we?" Baboo smirked. Then, to their surprise, his eyes dilated and shone a brilliant red and the nails on his hands turned into sharp claws. With a snarl, he lunged at them, gnashing pointed teeth as he knocked them down.

"He's a vampire! Be careful!" Billy cried, as he and Zack fought underneath the unexpected strength. As they fought to gain the upper hand, Finster, Squatt, and a group of Putties bore down on them. Soon, the two were hauled to their feet. _Man! This is embarrassing! We were taken down by __**Baboo**_! Zack thought to himself.

"Excellent. Empress Rita will be pleased at our success of taking care of two Rangers," Finster smirked. They were two of the brats that continually destroyed his beautiful creations. He would **enjoy** destroying them. He took a small gun from the pocket of his overalls and pointed it Billy and Zack who struggled against the hold Baboo, Squatt, and the Putties had on them. Normally, they would've been able to break free, but Baboo's surprising strength and the sheer number of Putties was too much for them.

"Oh, don't worry, Rangers. The pain will be for merely seconds. Then, you will be as dead as my monsters you've destroyed," Finster told them coldly. He pointed the gun at them.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

In Super Sentai, the Japanese counterpart to Baboo (can't think of his name) was a vampire so I decided to add that in. Nice twist huh?


	4. Divided

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize. I use some lines from "Green With Evil Part 3".

Zack and Billy struggled to break Baboo's hold. This couldn't be happening! They couldn't go out like this! _Come on, Zack-man! Think!_ Zack encouraged himself. Looking at Billy, he saw the same determination on his friend's face. Then, they concentrated on their inner energy. _Here goes nothing_, Zack thought. Finster pulled the trigger on the gun and instantly there were two roars before a black and blue light shone from the Rangers. The beam from the gun ricocheted off the two teens and a horrible yell filled the air.

"Finster!" Squatt and Baboo shouted in horror as they released the Black and Blue Rangers. That strange light had killed Finster! Zack and Billy quickly fought through the Putties and Zack bent down and scooped up the gun that Finster had tried to use on them. Snarling, Baboo charged at them and Zack quickly squeezed the trigger. Billy and Zack watched in fascination as the beam latched onto the vampire. Baboo let out a horrible shriek before he disintegrated into particles of dust.

"Baboo! You killed Baboo!" Squatt wailed. The tall vampire had been his best friend. His eyes darkened angrily and he rushed at them, surprising them with his speed. He knocked Zack down, causing the Ranger to drop the gun. Zack gagged as Squatt placed his hands on his throat and squeezed. Zack gagged at the sudden pressure and reached up to pry the alien's hands away from his throat. However, Squatt's grip was amazingly vice-like and Zack could feel his trachea closing. Billy headed for Zack only to have Putties begin to surround him. The Blue Ranger jumped into the air and flipped forward, landing behind his would-be attackers. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at Squatt. Without a second thought, he fired. The beam hit Squatt, latching onto him, causing the alien to release his victim. Zack managed to roll out of the way and Billy ran to him and helped him to slowly sit up. They watched as Squatt disintegrated the way Baboo had. With a burble, the Putties disappeared.

"How do you feel?" Billy questioned in concern.

"Main Brain," Zack managed to rasp. Billy laughed in relief.

"As soon as you catch your breath, we'll go see if we can't find the others," Billy stated.

"I'm fine. Let's go," Zack insisted, starting to rise.

"You sure?" Billy questioned in concern, helping him. Zack nodded. Then, they slowly made their way to the other end of the fairgrounds. Meanwhile, in the maze, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Tommy continued to flee dodging blasts from Rito's sword. The Skeleton laughed heartily.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Rangers," he sneered.

"Keep going! Keep going!" Tommy urged. At the entrance of the park, Rita laughed. _Now this is how an evil plan's supposed to work!_ she happily thought as she leered at Justin, Tina, Chris, Hilary, Zane, Bulk, Skull, Richie, Angela, and Tyler, and Marge who had been trapped in a large bounce house that was surrounded by an electric force-field. All but Marge had been so intent on making sure everyone else had gotten out that they hadn't even noticed Rita coming up behind them.

"Let us go, you witch!" Marge shouted. Rita's only response was a laugh.

"Not a chance, Sweetie! Once the Rangers are destroyed, you'll all be my slaves!" she told them. Justin kicked the bounce house angrily and his eyes flashed defiantly. There was no way he was going to let Rita turn him and his friends into her slaves. While all of this was going on, Goldar and Scorpina had chased the other Rangers across the park.

"Split up!" Jason commanded. Immediately, Kimberly and Trini went one way, while Katherine and Jason went another. Scorpina quickly gave chase after Kimberly and Trini while Goldar pursued Katherine and Jason. Jason looked over his shoulder. _Man, I gotta get Goldar away from her!_ he thought.

"You go that way, I'll draw him off!" Jason instructed.

"No, we should stick together!" Katherine protested.

"Kat, go! That's an order!" Jason insisted. With a sigh, Katherine did as she was told and ran to a roller coaster she spotted. With a roar, Scorpina threw her boomerang at the girl who quickly darted behind the roller coaster. Scorpina fumed as her weapon missed its target and then came back to her. With a growl, she gave chase once more. While Katherine made her get away, Jason dashed into one of the fun houses, panting as he heard Goldar behind him. _Man, I wish I could morph_, he thought. He ducked behind an aisle, and-stopped. To his surprise, his own frightened expression stared back at him. He spun around to see the same thing no matter which way he turned. _The Hall Of Mirrors. I'm in the Hall Of Mirrors_, he realized. Hearing footsteps, he once again took off. Then, there was a shattering sound. _He must've seen my reflection_, he thought to himself.

"You're only prolonging the inevitable, Jason," Goldar called. "You know Scorpina's probably killed your little girlfriend by now," he taunted. Jason skidded to a stop. Was Goldar right? Had Katherine been killed by Scorpina? _No! He's just trying to rattle you! Kat's tough. She can take Scorpina_, he thought as he ducked behind a row of mirrors. "Show yourself, Jason! Give up! I'll be merciful," Goldar encouraged. _Give up? No way!_ Jason thought. He peeked around the corner of a mirror to see Goldar a few rows over. As if sensing the Ranger, Goldar looked up. With a quiet gasp, Jason quickly ducked behind the row. However, it was too lat. Goldar had spotted him and was coming his way. _Okay, Jason. Think!_ he encouraged himself. It wasn't as bad as being in the Dark Dimension, he wasn't fighting for his Morpher and he didn't have to wait to be rescued. But he couldn't keep running. He had to take him on. Jason squared his shoulders. If Goldar wanted a fight, he was going to get one! He waited until the footsteps sounded closer, and then risked peeking out from behind the row. Once the griffin was close enough, the Red Ranger let out a kick, knocking his opponent back. Goldar growled and brandished his sword over his head.

"You're mine, Red Ranger," he threatened. Then, he brought his sword and Jason quickly jumped back, landing in a defensive stance. Goldar came at him again, moving towards the left. Jason went to dodge the blow, but was taken aback when Goldar suddenly moved towards the right and swung his sword down. Jason let out a cry of pain as the blade pierced his shoulder. The boy started to drop but Goldar grabbed him and then threw him back. Jason cried out as the glass shattered. Goldar then smashed the mirror above him and the Red Ranger quickly ducked his head down and covered his head protectively, gasping in pain as the jagged edges hit him. Laughing menacingly, Goldar came closer and closer. Jason's breathing hitched as he looked up. He tried to rise to his feet, but his legs wouldn't obey him. _No. I'm going to die right here and there's nothing I can do_, he thought. Goldar's grin grew as he saw the Red Ranger's fearful expression. Finally, he had him. He raised his sword high and Jason cringed and put his arm in front of his face protectively.

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
